and social harmony. This perception that sasi is a good thing for society, in general, is an
incentive to compliance.
Source of government revenue
Village governments have an incentive to develop and support sasi as a way of collecting
resource rents. However, as seen in Nolloth and Hulaliu, this must be approached with some
sensitivity as a majority of fishers strongly object to the sale of access and withdrawal rights
to outsiders or to village elites. There is also resistance to any scheme that replaces direct
benefits to harvesters with indirect benefits provided through local government. To be
successful, this type of sasi must be directed by a highly respected and legitimate leader.
Environmental benefits
There is some evidence that sea cucumbers and top shells (Trochus niloticus) are protected by
sasi, and sasi areas patrolled by kewang may, in some cases, be relatively protected from the
use of destructive gear types. There is also evidence that the protected marine mammal, the
dugong, is also largely restricted to the marine territories of sasi villages (de Iongh pers.
comm. 1998). Lack of general recognition of such environmental benefits probably means that
they do not as yet constitute incentives, except in particular cases such as Nolloth (see the
Nolloth case study). However, the value of sasi in resource conservation is not lost on NGOs
and academics (Yayasan Hualopu 1996, Evans et al. 1997), who use the example of sasi’s time-
limited “no-take” reserves for top shells as a reason to promote revitalization of the institution
for management and conservation.
There is evidence that people in Maluku are beginning to become aware of environmental
issues and this could lead to environmental concern being an incentive in future. For example,
fishers in these small villages often pointed to water pollution, garbage, modern fishing gears
and blast fishing as contributors to a generally perceived decline in environmental health
and fish catches in the region. As yet, there are no signs of people acting to deal with
environmental threats except in the case of the environmental NGO and village environment
projects (mangrove planting, endangered bird program) started by kewang members in Haruku.
Elsewhere, environmental consciousness tends to be limited to sweeping litter up from roads
and yards - litter that often is disposed of in a river or the sea.
18.4.3 Incentives related to biophysical, political and social context
Dependence on fisheries
Villagers in Maluku are very much dependent on fisheries for primary and secondary
employment. When land crops fail or prices slump, the fishery is the employer of the last resort
which non-fishers depend upon as a form of insurance. For instance, the intensity of use of
marine resources increased in the aftermath of the 1990-91 collapse of clove prices in Indonesia.
Before, a large part of the village income was derived from the spice trade, and the Lease Islands
and Ambon were prosperous. Between 1991 and the price revival in 1998, many people who
formerly harvested cloves for a living turned to the sea as a source of income.
This dependence and the basic love of fishing expressed by villagers are incentives to cooperate
in management and/or conservation efforts if/when fishers recognize a clear and immediate
threat to their fishery and also appreciate that management options are available. This can be
seen in the case studies of Seri and Hutumuri, where artisanal fishers are trying to interest
268 An Institutional Analysis of Sasi Laut in Maluku, Indonesia